Dark Terrors: Descent into Darkness
by Smenzer
Summary: Hercules must solve an underground mystery while dealing with Jason's addiction to a newly discovered berry. Can he solve both problems?
1. Default Chapter

Title: Dark Terror

Title: Dark Terror

Author: Smenzer

Rating: PG

Pairing: None. Young Hercules

Archive: Yes, please. Let me know if you take it, OK?

Teaser: 

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. They belong to Studios USA or 

Whoever owns the Rights to Young Hercules. 

The doors to Jason's throne room flew open and Hercules raced in, laughing. Iolaus dashed in behind him, covered in melon. "I'll get you, Herc!"

Hercules hurried over to Jason and skidded to a halt in front of the young Prince. Iolaus noticed too late that Herc had stopped and ran right into him. The two fell on top of Jason, who was enjoying a big bowl of pink berries. The berry bowl toppled onto the floor and the bright pink berries rolled in every direction. Jason yelped in surprise and shoved his two friends onto the floor. 

"Hey! Watch what you're doing! Those are Sandersonni!" Jason yelled.

"Ah, who cares about some dumb old berries?" Iolaus said as he picked himself up off the floor. He wiped at the sticky mess of squished berries on his leather shirt and pants. When he lifted his hands, they were stained a dark pinkish red. "Hey! This is going to stain my clothes!"

"Iolaus, with all that melon on you, no one will ever notice." Hercules laughed as he rested on the floor, propped up on one elbow. He picked up a plump berry and tossed it into his mouth. An exotic taste exploded across his tongue. The Demi-God had never tasted anything like it before in his life. He figured if a banana and a strawberry ever crossbred, they'd taste like this. He licked his lips and reached for another. His blue eyes shifted to Iolaus. "That is, no one except the flies and the hornets. I bet they'd love you!"

"Hey! Quit eating all my berries!" Jason complained as he frantically scooped berries off the floor and back into the bowl. 

"Geez. What's got you tied in such a knot?" asked Iolaus as he tried to wipe his stained hands on his pants. This, of course, didn't do any good. 

"These are not ordinary berries." Jason explained as he crawled around on all four, peering under his throne for any that he missed. He straightened up and banged his head on his chair. He moaned loudly as he rubbed his sore head. "As I said, these are Sandersonni berries. They were just discovered and grow *only* underground. They're very rare."

"Underground?" Hercules asked in surprise. "I never heard of that before. Where in the world did you get those things from?"

"Yeah," Iolaus added. "Even I know that plants can't grow underground!"

"Well, these do." Jason told them as he settled back into his throne. "Some miners in one of my iron mines just discovered them not too long ago. They perfectly safe to eat and they taste very good! Mmmmmm....I could sit here all day and eat these."

"And they're all yours because you're the Prince, right?" Iolaus said. "Well, I don't want your dumb old berries! I'd rather eat something more solid."

"Iolaus, you'd eat anything!" Hercules laughed. 

A man stumbled into the throne room and collapsed onto the floor, gasping. "I carry an urgent message for the Prince!"

"I'm Prince Jason of Corinth." Jason stated as he leaped to his feet. "What is the message?"

"Something is killing the miners! We need your help." 

Jason, Hercules and Iolaus left for the mine. When they arrived Master Gristle greeted them. Gristle was a short, muscular man that carried a huge battle axe. He had dark eyes, a large bulbous nose and a long gray beard. The thick beard hung all the way to the center of his chest. A metal helm with two horns rested on top of his head. A chain mail shirt covered his chest but his arms were bare. "Welcome, Prince Jason! It is a great honor to have ye here at Mine Silverhome. Too bad we meet under such dire conditions."

Iolaus stared at Master Gristle in shock. The top of the man's head only reached the cadets' waist. "You're a...a..."

"They're Dwarves." Jason explained to Iolaus and Hercules. "Dwarves love to mine. It's what they do best. They live underground and feel at home in the deep mining tunnels."

"Aye, that be right." Master Gristle said as he led them into the opening of the mine shaft. "And we have infravision, so we can see in the dark. But something has been killing me workers. They be getting spooked, as this thing leaves no tracks at all. They be saying it be a ghost or evil spirit."

Hercules turned to take one last look at the faint light from the surface. He just saw a dim square of light and then that disappeared, too. He held the torch in front of him as he followed the others. The stone tunnel descended at a steep angle, the floor smoothed from thousands of booted feet. The rough rock walls around him seemed to press against him the deeper he went. Faint sounds drifted to his ears from up ahead. The party rounded a corner and entered a large cavern. 

"Wow." Hercules breathed as he gazed across the huge expanse of the underground cavern. Hercules stepped forward until he pressed up against the metal railing that circled the ledge they stood on. The multi-layered room shimmered below them in a cloud of pink steam and grayish-black smoke. Pots of molten metal bubbled as the dwarves hurried about doing their jobs. They produced fine weapons and exquisite jewelry here, both for their clan and for others to buy. This was Clan Silverhome's smithy. Only Hephaestus himself made better armor than the dwarves. Since Jason couldn't afford to buy from the God, he bought from the Dwarves. They, of course, made human sized weapons too. 

"I never really believed this place existed." Hercules said as he continued to stare out across the smithy room. "I mean, it's like a legend."

"I know what you mean." Iolaus agreed as he carefully followed Master Gristle down a pair of steep and narrow rock stairs. The stairs, he noticed, were carved out of the natural rock wall itself. "This place is unreal."

They reached the main floor without incident. Thick steam hung in the air and it was very hot. Sweat dripped freely down their faces as they followed Gristle through the room towards a distant doorway.

"So, are your workers disappearing from around here?" Hercules asked as he waved at the thick wall of steam in front of him. The stuff was as thick as fog! "I could understand. It's hard to see in here."

"Nay, Lad." Master Gristle explained. "It be down in the lower tunnels, where we do the mining. We need to go down a lot farther."

They followed Master Gristle through another doorway into a dark tunnel. Hercules wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. After the hot steam-filled smithy, the tunnel felt as cold as winter. He was glad Iolaus was carrying the torch for the moment! The light flickered and threw large shadows on the rough stone wall. "Well, do you have any idea what might be doing this? Does anything live down there?"

"Aye, lad! Lots of things live down there." The dwarf paused in the hallway and turned to face them. The torchlight reflected off his face, giving him a spooky look. "There be more tunnels then ours down there. Some say they descend to the center of the planet. Things live in them. We know about some of the beasties: giant spiders, bright yellow bugs that look like caterpillars, floating eyeballs and more. Once in a while these things come up into our mining tunnels looking for a free meal and we kill them. But this, this be different."

"All of those things live down there?" Hercules asked, his voice a high squeak. "And you think this is something else? Something new?"

"Aye." Master Gristle replied as he continued down the tunnel. "There have been disappearances in the tunnels ever since we dwarves lived in this mountain. It be normal in a way. A creature finds its way in, gobbles a few dwarves, we find the beastie and kill it. But lately too many dwarves are gone without a trace. There be no clues. There be fifty dwarves missing in one month. That be too many."

"And we're supposed to find this thing?" Iolaus asked as he followed along. "I don't know. We can't even see in the dark! If you can't find it and you live here, how are we supposed to?"

"Maybe ye see things that we miss." Master Gristle replied. 

"Oh, that's just great!" Iolaus complained as he hurried past an open doorway. He peered inside the room and waved his arm. "Hey! Look at this!"

"Whoah! That's incredible!" Hercules breathed. The room was filled with giant mushrooms. The light from the torch revealed their colors: pale white with splotches of purple. An elderly dwarf moved between the rows of mushrooms, tending the giant plants. He had a head full of wild white hair that stuck out in every direction. All sorts of objects stuck out of his scraggly beard and his gray overalls were smeared with what appeared to be manure.

Hey, do you grow those berries somewhere around here?" asked Jason as he squeezed between Hercules and Iolaus to see into the large cavern. "I would really like to see those plants."

"That be Master Furze. He's in charge of our food production." Master Gristle explained as he called the other dwarf over. Master Furze led them through several large connecting caverns filled with mushrooms. Finally they reached the Sandersonni plants. The tall plants glowed silver in the lightless cave. They provided enough light that they didn't even need the torches to see. Each plant stood about four feet tall and many were covered in glowing pink flowers. The center of the flowers had yellow and red splotches and was round with ruffled edges. A pair of pink "rabbit ears" stuck up above the round part while a long curved tail hung down at the bottom. The plants that didn't sport flowers were heavy with clumps of the plum-sized berries. Jason reached out for a handful and stuck a few into his mouth. "Man, these are so good!"

"I don't know." Iolaus said as he stared at the plants. "I think it's kind of freaky. I mean, plants belong on the surface. And mushrooms...bleeh! That's as bad as those oats Chiron feeds us!"

"Ah, what do you know about the finer things in life?" Jason asked as he filled a sack with the bright pink berries. "I'm going to take these berries with us, just in case. Chiron says we should always bring food along on dangerous missions. You never know when we might need it."

"Yeah, but Chiron said FOOD, not those things." Iolaus shook his head as he watched Jason pick his berries. "How do you even know those things are good to eat? Maybe they all died from poison berries."

"Iolaus, if they died from poison their bodies would be there." Hercules pointed out. But he watched his friend with concerned eyes. Jason seemed to really like those berries. The young Demi-God walked over to Master Furze. "Where did you get these berry plants from?"

"Me found them growing down in the lower tunnels." Master Furze told Hercules. "Me likes to go exploring down there." 

"Do you know anything about the missing dwarves down there?" Hercules asked.

"Yeah, that they be missing." Master Furze replied. "Everyone know that!"

"I can see why they made him a gardener." Iolaus whispered to Hercules. "He doesn't seem too bright in the head."

"But he's smart enough not to get caught by whatever it is." pointed out Hercules. "Maybe he knows something he isn't telling us."

Jason pushed past his two friends and headed towards the doorway. He carried a heavy sack of the pink berries. "Come on! Let's get going. We need to find whatever it is that's down there and get rid of it."

"Why don't you come with us?" Hercules asked Master Furze. "You seem to know your way around down there, don't you? We could use your help."

"OK." Master Furze replied as he gathered a few items he would need. After he was ready, they left the plant room and continued their way down into the bowels of the Earth. Finally they reached a heavy metal door that blocked their path. Master Gristle waved to a troop of armed dwarven guards and the door opened. They entered the mines with a troop of armed dwarves hot on their heels. After they were all through, the door clanged shut with the sound of doom. 


	2. Lost!

Hercules looked around the mining tunnels and shook his head

Hercules looked around the mining tunnels and shook his head. It looked the same as all of the other tunnels. How were they ever to find anything down here? All he saw was the flickering shadows cast by the dwarves on the walls from the torches they carried. 

"The disappearances be down this way." Master Gristle explained as he headed down one of the tunnels. The cadets and Master Furze followed along. The armed dwarves marched up in front. 

"Ow!" Iolaus cried as he tripped and fell onto the rough stone floor. The torch flew out of his hand and landed a few feet away. Hercules walked into Iolaus and fell over his friends' outstretched legs. The Demi-God landed on top of Iolaus with a loud thump. Jason, who was walking directly behind Hercules, tripped over both of his friends and landed on the top of the pile. The dropped berry bag opened and berries poured out all over the floor.

"My berries!" Jason cried as he picked himself up off the pile and scurried over to the bag. "Look what you made me do!"

"Well, you shouldn't be breathing down the back of my neck!" Hercules told Jason as he stood up. The Demi-God stretched a kink out of one of his shoulders as he watched Jason gather the berries. "Why are you so hooked on those things?"

"I'm not hooked on them! And as for walking right behind you, it's dark down here. OK? And there's something living down here that eats dwarves." Jason snapped at Hercules. 

"Hey. Look at this." Iolaus showed his friends a dwarven sized pickaxe, the metal blade part gleamed in the weak torchlight. "This is what I tripped over. It was lying here on the ground."

Hercules picked up the torch. He glanced both ways down the tunnel and frowned. "Guys, I think we have a problem. Both Master Furze and Master Gristle with his dwarves are gone. We're here all by ourselves."

"I thought Master Furze was right behind me." Jason stated as he reached into his sack of berries. "I heard his footfalls on the stone floor. He must have wondered off in the confusion."

"This doesn't look very good." Iolaus said as he stood up. "I don't know if we can trust that Master Furze. I mean, where did he disappear? I know he didn't go past us."

"Look, don't panic." Hercules walked a bit down the dark tunnel in the direction they had been going. At least, he *thought* it was the right direction. The torch, he discovered, didn't provide very much light. He stopped and glanced back towards his friends. His heart skipped a beat when he didn't see them. He hurried back and was relieved to see they were still there. "Look, all we have to do is go down this tunnel. Then we should catch up with Master Gristle. Our legs are much longer than theirs. If we hurry, we should be OK. They couldn't have gone very far."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Jason agreed as he started to follow Hercules down the tunnel. He popped a few pink berries into his mouth. "Hmmm, these are so good!"

"Wait, aren't we forgetting something?" Iolaus asked as he hurried to catch up with his friends. "There may be a physcho down in these tunnels with us. Maybe it's not a monster at all but a dwarf. One that very conviently disappeared."

"Well, I'm not convinced that Master Furze did anything." Hercules said as he turned around to walk backward. He frowned when he saw Jason reach into the bag for more berries. The flickering torchlight revealed pink juice dripping down Jason's chin and neck. "Will you just stop eating those?"

"Why?" Jason asked. "I like them."

"Because they are not good for you!" Hercules yelled. "All you do is eat those berries or worry about the berries! Just look how you're clutching that sack! Your knuckles are white. You should be concerned about the missing dwarves and what's down in these tunnels but you're not. You're only worrying about the berries!"

"That's not true, Hercules!" Jason shouted back through a mouthful of berries. Half chewed berries flew out of his mouth and dripped onto his tunic. Jason choked and pounded on his own chest. Tears leaked from his eyes but he still clung with one hand to his sack of berries. He wiped his mouth as he straightened up. He was about to lick at the red juice on his hand but managed to stop himself. "Look, Hercules. I don't have a problem, really! You make it sound like I'm addicted to these Sandersonni but I'm not. And I am worried about what's going on here in the mines. That's why we came here to help, remember? We're down here risking our lives to help the dwarves."

"Hey!" protested Iolaus loudly. "We were talking about that plant dwarf, remember? Just look at all that junk he had sticking out of his beard! Now that is *not* normal! I bet he knows every tunnel down here. He could be walking circles around us down here and he'd have the advantage. Maybe that's why they can't find the creature because it's not a creature!"

Hercules shoved his hair out of his eyes. He focused his gaze on Iolaus. "Look, just because a person looks differently or dresses differently doesn't mean they are dangerous. Maybe he needs that stuff in his beard. Or maybe he gets so caught up in his work he forgets to take care of himself. I agree he needs to be watched, but he also might know other useful information about what lives down here. I wish I knew where he went. Maybe he could have really helped us solve this mystery."

"I don't know, Herc." Iolaus said.

Hercules turned around once again and they continued their trek down the tunnel. After a few moments of silence, the three cadets stopped. Up ahead the tunnel divided itself into three separate passages. 

"Oh, this is really good, Herc!" Iolaus complained as he waved a hand at the three openings in front of them. "Just follow the tunnel, huh? Well, which one did the dwarves go down?"

"I don't know." Hercules admitted. He rubbed his forehead with his free hand. The beginning of a headache pounded behind his eyes. Jason with the berries, Iolaus complaining, the missing dwarves, them being lost, it was all beginning to get to Hercules. "Look, maybe we should stay right here. I'm sure once Master Gristle realizes we are gone he'll come back for us."

"Unless the monster got him." Iolaus added. The curly haired blonde squeezed past Jason and knelt at the entrance to one of the tunnels. He placed his hands on the ground and pressed his ear to the rock floor. His eyes blinked. After a few moments of listening, he stood up. "Maybe I can discover what tunnel they went down. This rock doesn't hold footprints, but sound can travel through rock. So can vibrations. And I bet all of those marching dwarves Master Gristle had with him should make plenty of vibrations!"

Hercules watched Iolaus move to the center tunnel and repeat the process. He shifted his gaze to Jason and caught the Prince of Corinth jamming more berries into his mouth. "Stop that!" 

"If nof eafinf berries!" Jason shook his head; his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel. He clutched the bag to his chest tightly.

"Give me that bag!" Hercules reached out and yanked the berry bag away from Jason. Hercules peered inside and was glad to see that most of the Sandersonni were still in the bag. Jason had apparently not eaten as many as he had feared. Hercules rubbed his forehead again. What was he going to do about Jason's addiction? They all needed their wits about them down here. He was very glad that he had eaten only one berry, but how many had Jason eaten? What other side effects did the berries have? 

"Hey, I hear something!" Iolaus told his friends excitedly. He knelt in the last tunnel on his knees. "The other two were really silent, but I hear something from this one."

Hercules moved forward and shone the torch into the left side tunnel. After a few feet the tunnel sloped downward. "I don't know. This tunnel will take us deeper underground."

"Yeah, but he said the lower mines." Iolaus pointed down the tunnel. "That much noise can't be one lone person. It must be the group of dwarves. What else could it be? I say we go take a look."

Hercules turned his head to look at Jason. The Prince had his dark eyes focused on the berry bag. His eyes had a glazed appearance to them. Jason didn't blink but just kept staring steadily at the bag in Hercules' hand. "I don't know, Iolaus. Jason doesn't look too hot."

"Yeah, but we can't get out of here by ourselves!" Iolaus pointed out. "I say we go down there and catch up with them!"

"OK." Hercules breathed in deeply and let it out. Holding the torch high, he stepped into the dark tunnel and started the descent. 


	3. Encounter in the Dark

About after ten minutes, they all could hear the loud marching sound as it drifted up to their ears

About after ten minutes, they all could hear the loud marching sound as it drifted up to their ears. Hercules stopped and held out his arm to signal the others. He sniffed the air cautiously. "Do you guys smell that?"

"Smell what?" asked Iolaus. "Everything smells funny down here."

"It's an odd smell and it's getting stronger the farther down we go." Hercules breathed in the air and shook his head. It was hard to think straight with this headache. "It's like a metal smell, and dampness, too. I don't know, it's hard to explain."

"Well, we are underground! It's bound to smell damp down here, right?" Iolaus asked Hercules. "Maybe its a mineral spring or something. Bleeh! I hate that mineral water stuff! Taste like I'm eating a sword or something."

"But I don't hear a stream." Hercules stepped forward a bit and held his torch up high. The marching had grown louder. The ground under his boots trembled with the force of whatever it was. And that damp metal smell had grown worse. Hercules covered his nose with his free hand.

"Uggh! What *is* that smell?" Iolaus asked.

"Umm, guys? I don't think that's the dwarves." Hercules stated as he backed up in the narrow tunnel. His back bumped into Iolaus' chest. "I don't know what it is but I think it's almost here!"

Hercules' hand that held the torch trembled and the torch threw flickering shadows onto the dark passage before them. A large rusty orange circle appeared in the torchlight. The circle hovered about waist high and there was a black dot on each side of the circle. A pair of long feelers swayed in the torchlight and Hercules realized it was the head of some odd creature. The creature moved closer to them and its jointed legs were revealed. 

Hercules turned around and pushed at Iolaus. "RUN!"

"Ahhhh!" Iolaus screamed as he saw the giant insect-like creature. It was even closer now and he saw even more detail of its body. The long feelers, which had feather-like tips on them, were attached just below the moving mouthparts. In a sudden burst of clarity, Iolaus remembered Chiron telling the class the mouthparts of insects was called mandibles. A short pair of antennae grew on the top of its head. Just behind the head, it had a humped back that rose up toward the tunnel's ceiling. It appeared the creature had natural armor on its body. It dashed towards them on four jointed legs that had spikes growing out of their sides. A long curved tail stuck up into the air behind it, its tip covered in a series of "T" shaped armor plating. The overpowering odor of wet metal drifted off its body and made Iolaus gag. 

"I said run!" Hercules shoved at Iolaus again.

The blonde-haired hunter turned around this time and shoved at Jason. The Prince started to run up the steep tunnel but soon tripped. He rolled over on his back and stared up at Iolaus with glazed eyes. He gasped for air."I can't make it. Just leave me here." Jason croaked to his friends. "Save yourselves."

Iolaus gripped Jason by one of his arms and heaved him up. "We're not leaving you to be ate by that thing! Now get those feet moving!" 

Hercules felt something brush over his head and shoulders. He spun around and was face to face with the rust-colored monster. It charged forward, the torchlight reflecting off its black beady eyes. Its hard head struck Hercules' stomach and the Demi-God was knocked over backward. He landed hard on his back. The torch flew out of his hand and landed a few feet away on the rough stone floor. It started to roll downhill and soon disappeared under the creatures' body. The light rapidly dimmed as the torch rolled farther and farther away. The last thing Hercules saw before the light vanished was that the monster was almost upon him.

Hercules closed his eyes and frantically reached around for a weapon. A rock. Anything! But all he felt was a breeze pass by overhead as the creature hurried past him, its legs on either side of his body. Instantly Hercules leaped to his feet and raced downhill towards the torch. He could just make out its faint glow. By now it had rolled so far down the steep passage that its light was just a weak red glow, like a dying ember in a campfire. If the torch went out.....

Iolaus' scream echoed throughout the tunnel.

Hercules raced for the torch as quickly as he could. With a flying leap, his fingers locked around the familiar handle and he twisted in midair so he landed on his feet. Then he charged up the steep tunnel with as much speed as he could muster. 

Why? Why? Why? Hercules asked himself? Why did the creature past him by and go after his friends instead? It made no sense! He had been lying helpless on the ground and it had just passed him by in favor of his friends. If anything ever happened to them he would never forgive himself. 

"Ahhhh! Hercules!" Jason cried in terror. 

Hercules jumped and landed on the monster's back. He had landed right on the top of it's hump, on his stomach. Unfortunately the back of the creature was smooth and hard, so Hercules started to slide down toward the creature's head. Hercules shoved the torch forward so he could see what it was doing to his two fellow cadets. He gasped in amazement. He had expected it to be chewing on them, but it was just waving its feathery feelers over their bodies. The feelers focused on Jason's scabbard and twisted around it. With a yank, it snapped the scabbard off Jason's belt. The jerk made Hercules loose his balance and the Demi-God toppled to the ground. 

Iolaus yelped in pain as Hercules landed on top of him. The golden hunter shoved his friend off himself and scrambled to his feet. "What's the thing doing?"

"I don't know." Hercules lifted the torch and watched as the creature managed to pull the sword from the scabbard. As soon as its feelers touched the metal blade, the metal transformed into rust. The rust landed in a small pile on the stone floor and the odd creature immediately gulped it down with its long purple tongue. 

"It ate Jason's sword!" Hercules squeaked in shock.

Jason had flopped over onto his stomach. He crawled slowly up the steep tunnel on his hands and knees. After a few moments, he reached the berry bag that Hercules had dropped. He sat down and started to munch on the pink Sandersonni, apparently forgetting completely about the odd sword-eating monster. 

The creature approached Hercules and traced its feelers over his body. Hercules forced himself to stand still, although his heart pounded like crazy in his chest. He wanted to scream in terror at having something so alien touch him, but he had to admit the thing had not injured any of them yet. A moment later it pulled its feelers back and raced up the steep tunnel. Hercules watched until it disappeared from sight. 

"Boy! I thought I was a goner for sure!" Iolaus gasped from where he lay on the tunnel floor. "I guess it only eats dwarves, not humans."

"I don't think that's not the thing that eats dwarves, either." Hercules said as a shiver passed through his slim body. "I know it looked scary, but that thing eats *metal* not meat. So we still did not find what we are looking for."

"Not to mention we are lost." Iolaus reminded Hercules. 

"OW!" Jason cried as he held onto his jaw.

Hercules raced over to Jason and sighed when he saw the Prince had been eating the berries again. "I thought I told you not to eat those!"

"I cracked my tooth on something!" Jason complained as he continued to hold his jaw. The Crown Prince of Corinth spitted something out of his mouth. The object clattered on the stone floor and spun around several times until it stopped. It glinted silver in the flickering torchlight. 

Hercules reached down and picked it up. He stared in amazement at the silver ring that rested in the palm of his hand, a blood red ruby at its center. 

"Geez, Jason, why did you try to eat a ring for?" Iolaus asked as he joined his two friends. "Herc is right. You really ARE hooked on those things!"

"I didn't try to eat a ring!" Jason retorted. "I'm not THAT stupid! I was only eating berries. That thing must have been inside one of the berries!"

"Yeah, sure." Iolaus rolled his eyes. "Like a ring could get inside a berry! And denars grow on trees! How would it get inside there, huh?"

"I don't know!" Jason yelled angrily. He slumped against the tunnel wall and held onto his aching jaw. "You're my friend, Iolaus. You're supposed to believe me. I'm telling the truth! I popped a berry into my mouth and cracked my molar on that ring when I bit the berry! Look, I know it sounds crazy, OK? But you got to believe me."

"Just stop, OK? Just let me think!" Hercules shoved his hair out of his blue eyes. He was certain he could figure it out, if only his head wasn't banging so much! It felt like there was an entire kinder of centaurs holding races inside his head. "Berries, rings, missing dwarves, dwarf eating creatures.... there has to be a connection somewhere!"

Hercules plopped down on the tunnel floor. He reached for the bag of berries and started to pull berries out of the bag. He held them in his hand, weighing them. Then he tossed them onto the ground and reached for more.

"Hey! You're going to loose them all!" Jason complained as he started to collect the berries Herc had tossed away. "Why are you doing that for?"

"Because I think you might have stumbled across a clue, one the dwarves missed." Hercules weighed more berries and tossed them over to Jason. He hoped Jason wouldn't be so eager to eat them now that he had broken a tooth. But in the long run he feared it wouldn't matter. It would take a lot more than a broken tooth to cure Jason's berry addiction. Hercules hefted a plump pink berry in his hand. This one felt a lot heavier than the other berries. He dug his fingernails into its soft flesh and tore it open. In the center, where the seed is in some fruits, he discovered a metal button. He held it close to the torchlight and examined it. It appeared to be blackened and scarred, as if it had been dumped into a vat of acid. 

"I see it but I don't believe it!" Iolaus exclaimed in surprise. "How did that get into the berry? And why is it all black like that?"

"Yeah, what does it mean?" Jason asked.


	4. Addicted!!

"I think the Sandersonni plants are eating the dwarves

"I think the Sandersonni plants are eating the dwarves." Hercules told his two friends. "I remember when I was a kid my mother used to tell me stories of meat eating plants."

"Ah, but that can't be right!" Jason argued. He stuck a finger into his mouth and gently poked at his ruined molar. He frowned at what he felt and winched as sharp pain coursed through his jaw. "I was standing right next to those plants, remember? They didn't bother me at all! And what about that dwarf that works in the plant rooms? How come they didn't eat him? Huh?"

"Yeah!" Iolaus said as he glanced up the steep tunnel toward where the rust monster had vanished. "We were right there in the room with the plants! We're still here. Those plants didn't even move or anything. I think it's some big bug thing, like that thing we just saw. Maybe it wasn't *that" monster, but there must be lots of things crawling around down here! And speaking of monsters, I think we better get moving before something finds us. Besides, man-eating plants are just a myth!"

"We thought basilisks were only a myth, too, until one hatched in front of our eyes." Hercules reminded them. The Demi-God rose to his feet and stretched. His headache pounded behind his blue eyes and he wished it would go away. He realized he was tired of being stuck underground. Everything was so dark and cold down here. Not a physical cold but a cold that chilled his soul. There were no colors. He really wanted to go up to the surface and feel the sun on his face, the green grass underneath him, the gentle caress of a breeze. He wanted to lie on his back in the field near the Academy and stare up at the white clouds in the bright blue sky, daydreaming of the day he would finally meet Zeus. Or run wild with the guys in a game of melonball. Heck, even taking one of Fiddle Face's tests sounded good right now! He rubbed at his tired eyes. "Look, I know it must have something to do with those berry plants. This ring and this button are from missing dwarves. They must be. We just need to figure out how the berry plants are eating them."

"But that still can't be right." Iolaus argued. "Because the plants are up there and the dwarves are missing from down here."

"But the roots are down here!" Hercules shouted. "That must be it! Plants eat with their roots, right? Some roots can get really long."

"That's just crazy, Hercules!" Jason moaned. 

"Come on, we have a job to do." Hercules headed back up the steep tunnel until he reached the area where the tunnels branched. He waited until Jason and Iolaus joined him. He stared at the two tunnels and decided to take the middle passageway. He carefully inched into in and started down it. He held the torch aloft so he could see the area directly before him. He paid extra close attention to the ceiling. 

"So what are we looking for?" asked Iolaus. 

"Something like that." Hercules pointed. Thin white threads hung down from the ceiling to the floor. They were so skinny they were almost invisible against the dark tunnel. Hercules had a funny suspicion that with infravision they would be invisible. The dwarves would walk right into them and get caught. They reminded Hercules of the silk spiders used to make their webs. 

"So? What's the big deal about a few lone pieces of spider silk?" asked Iolaus as he pushed Hercules out of the way. He moved closer and stared at the white threads that dangled from the ceiling. "It's not even an entire web! And we can see there are no spiders around here. Heck, there probably cobwebs! I got thicker cobwebs than those in my room back at the Academy! And what's so dangerous about these? I can break them with my hand!" 

Iolaus reached out to swat the white strings with his hand.

"Iolaus, don't!" Hercules cried.

As Iolaus' hand touched the silky threads, a round hole opened in the ceiling and a powerful wind started to suck at Iolaus. Iolaus screamed as his feet left the rock floor and he started to fly up towards the black opening.

Hercules took a running start and leaped at Iolaus. He collided into his friend and wrapped his arms around Iolaus' legs. The Demi-Gods' momentum carried them to the other side of the tunnel where they both crashed to the hard stone floor. Hercules shook his hair out of his eyes and sat up. He winched at the sudden pain on his elbow. He twisted his arm and saw the skin was scraped off his elbow. He slapped Iolaus on his chest. "Why did you have to do that for? You could have been killed!"

"How the heck was I supposed to know it would do that?" Iolaus said as he slowly stood and brushed imaginary dust off his clothes. 

"I told you! Those things must be trigger hairs." Hercules also climbed to his feet. He stared at the thin curtain of trigger hairs that hung from the ceiling. He and Iolaus were on one side, Jason on the other. So was the torch. "We have to figure a way out of this mess. If we try to go back the way we came, it'll get us."

"I'm sorry, Herc. Really." Iolaus said. "Thanks for saving me."

"That's OK. Just don't do it again." Hercules closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead again. The centaurs were still holding races behind his eyes. "When we get out of this place, I never want to see another cave again."

"Hey! What if we use the torch to burn the trigger hairs?" Iolaus asked. "Do you think that might work?" 

"It's worth a try." Hercules replied. He glanced past the curtain of trigger hairs to see the torch lying on the stone floor. The fire flickered weakly. The torch needed to be upright so it could burn properly. If it went out, they'd be stuck underground in total darkness. He shifted his blue eyes from the torch to Jason. The Prince of Corinth was about an arm's length away from the torch. He sat with his back against the tunnel wall, the berry bag on his outstretched legs. He was eating berries with both hands at once. Hercules noticed that Jason squeezed each berry before he popped it into his mouth. The pink juice dripped down his hands and forearms, leaving pink trails of juice. The Prince had his eyes closed and noisily sucked the juice off his fingers. 

"Jason!" Hercules called loudly. 

Jason acted like he didn't hear Hercules and kept eating the Sandersonni.

"I don't think he hears you. He's too addicted to those things." Iolaus stated.

"I know that!" Hercules yelled at Iolaus. The Demi-God turned around and examined the floor. The torchlight was rapidly growing weaker and it was getting harder to see anything. Hercules knelt down and started to feel around for a rock. Finding one, he tossed it at Jason. The rock bounced off Jason's arm and landed with a loud clatter. Jason opened his eyes and blinked at the rock in confusion. 

"Jason! Pick up the torch!" Hercules urged. 

Jason glanced at Hercules, his eyes glazed. He reached for more berries.

"NO! The torch! Pick up the torch. I know you can do it." Hercules pulled on his hair in frustration. He wanted to bang his head against the stone wall, but his hurted too much. He wanted to scream, to grab Jason by his fancy leather tunic and shake him until he snapped out of his berry addiction. "Oh, this is my fault! I should have thrown that stupid bag away a long time ago! But I didn't and looked how far he deteriated."

"It's not your fault, Herc." Iolaus said. "He was already addicted to those things when we arrived in Corinth."

"Yes it *is* my fault! I should have dropped that bag down a crevice." Hercules turned back towards Jason. He knew he had to keep trying. "Jason, pick up the torch. Look, it's right there. Just reach out and grab it."

Jason reached out towards the torch and folded his fingers around the handle. Slowly he lifted it upward. The fire flickered and grew a bit brighter. 

"That's great. Now stand up. I know you can do that." Hercules urged his friend. He hated to see Jason reduced to this. 

Jason rolled over onto his knees. The berry bag tumbled onto the floor and a few berries spilled out. Hercules was alarmed to realize how empty the bag was. Leaning against the wall, Jason slowly climbed to his feet. He swayed slightly up and back and his legs trembled. Jason fell back against the wall and leaned on it, the torch in one hand. 

"Ok, now lift the torch. Burn these white threads." Hercules told him. He turned to Iolaus and they exchanged a worried look. Jason was in worse shape than either had thought. 

Jason inched closer towards the white threads, his back still resting against the wall. He slowly lifted the torch. The higher he lifted his arm, the more it shook. When it was about a foot away from the curtain of threads, Jason dropped his arm back against his side. He slumped to a sitting position and rested his head against his knees. When he lifted his head, his face was wet. "I can't Herc, I can't! It's too hard!"

"Of course you can, Jason! Think of all the things you accomplished!" Hercules told Jason from the other side of the white trigger hairs. "You're a Prince! You're going to rule Corinth one of these days, you're one of Chiron's best students. In fact, you're so good that he lets you lead drills! And nobody can beat you at bagball! And now you're saying you can't lift a torch after all of things we did together? You *have* to do this! If you don't, we'll be stuck here forever."

"Yeah! Think of all of the times you whipped Strife and Discord in fights!" Iolaus reminded his friend. "They'll never let you live it down if you can't lift a simple torch. You don't want those two to win, do you? Come on, just try again!"

"OK, I'll try again." Jason forced himself to his feet. He breathed in deeply and pushed himself away from the wall. He was determined he was going to do it this time, on his own. He swayed slightly up and back on unsteady legs. He inched his legs wider apart to improve his balance. After he stopped swaying, he lifted the torch. His hand started to shake, but Jason gritted his teeth and forced himself to lift it higher. The first few threads were so close to the flickering flames; he just needed a few more inches! "I can do this. I know I can! I *have* to!"

Jason frowned. The torch was shaking too much, he feared he might drop it. So he lifted his other hand and wrapped it around his wrist to steady the torch. The torched closed the last few inches and fire licked at the trigger hairs. He watched as the flames leaped up the dry threads and formed three long strings of fire. Jason didn't wait to see what would hapen next but moved over to the next group. After he had set all of the trigger hairs afire, he slumped to the ground exhausted. The torch fell out of his numb fingers and rolled across the floor. 

Hercules watched the trigger hair burn until nothing was left of them. After the flames had gone out, Hercules dashed through the dangerous area as quick as he could. He didn't want to take any chances. He walked over to the torch and picked it up. Hercules looked down at Jason with concern. "I knew you could do it."

"How could I have sunk so low?" Jason asked Hercules. "Lifting a torch is so easy and I could barely do it. I had to use every ounce of strength and willpower in my body. It's frightening and very shocking. I'll have to force myself not to eat those berries. They're dangerous. But even now, after I know what they've done to me, I still want them. I can't stop thinking about them, Herc. What am I going to do?"

"We're going to destroy those plants so they can't never hurt anyone else again." Hercules replied as he pulled Jason to his feet. He pulled one of Jason's arms around his shoulder as he helped support his friend. Iolaus did the same on the other side. They slowly started to walk back the way they came. "And we're going to find that big door and get out of this place! And when we do, we're going to tell everyone the dangers of Sandersonni."


	5. Conclusion

They slowly made their way back towards the big metal door

They slowly made their way back towards the big metal door. Anyway, that's where they hoped they were heading. They heard footsteps up ahead and a dwarf appeared in front of them. Hercules recognized Master Furze right away. The dwarf carried something in his arms.

"Hey! Wait up!" Hercules cried as they tried to catch up with Furze. 

Master Furze stopped and turned around. "Oh, it you. You find creature?"

"Yeah!" Iolaus said loudly, his voice angry. "It's your lousy berry plants! They're carnivorous! The roots are eating the miners and it's your entire fault! And look what they did to Jason!"

"Meat eating? Oh my! Me no idea!" Master Furze said as he fell against the wall. Shock was cleanly written all over his face. The basket he carried tumbled to the floor and something fell out. 

"That's not another berry plant, is it?" Iolaus asked suspiciously. 

"This?" Furze stooped and picked up the item from his basket. "Oh, of course not! This new! Me find in the lower caves. Sweet honey plant. Me no think of name yet. You want to try?"

"NO!" All three cadets shouted.

"Do you know how to get out of here?" Hercules asked. "We're lost and have no idea where we're going."

"Door be over there." Master Furze led them to the door and pounded on it. Soon it opened and they gladly passed through the doorway. "What wrong with your friend? He looked OK earlier."

"He's addicted to your berries!" Iolaus shouted. 

"Hmm...no good for human. Dwarf eat only." Furze stated to himself. "Gotta remember that."

"Look, no one is going to eat those berries! We have to destroy the plants before they eat more people." Hercules said as he rushed into the plant room and started tearing the Sandersonni out of the ground. As he ripped them up, an awful stench filled the air and Hercules had to force himself not to gag. Where each plant had been there was now a big hole leading straight down. Hercules peered inside one, his hand over his nose and mouth, and he thought he saw a murky liquid. The Demi-God couldn't be sure though as the lighting was very poor. He knew for a fact though the stink was coming from the holes. 

After all the plants were destroyed, Hercules told the leader of the dwarven clan about the Sandersonni and what to watch for in the tunnels below. He didn't know if they could grow back or not, but Hercules thought it might be possible. Armed with lots of torches, the dwarves entered the lower tunnels to search for Master Gristle and his missing security team. The torches would allow them to see the trigger hairs and burn any they might encounter.

Satisfied that all was taken care of in the dwarven community, Hercules, Iolaus and Jason headed for the Academy. The Academy was closer than Jason's palace, so they would go there. They hoped Chiron might know a cure for the berry addiction. After walking for about an hour in the open air, Jason began to feel better. His head cleared up and his eyes no longer had that glazed look to them. He didn't feel totally cured, but he was on the road to recovery. And with the berry plants destroyed, there was no possibility of him eating any more. They reached the gates to the Academy and passed through. Jason was walking on his own and no longer needed his friends to support him. The berry addiction embarrassed him, but he knew it was best to ask Chiron's advice. The three friends walked into the Academy and started towards the centaur's office.

The End


End file.
